Tag: John Mellencamp

Monday 1/4/2021 10pm ET: Feature LP: John Mellencamp – John Cougar (1979)

John Cougar is the third studio album by John Mellencamp. It was his first album to be released by his new record company Riva Records and to credit him as “John Cougar”. Released in 1979, following the success in Australia of the single “I Need a Lover” from his previous album A Biography (which did not receive a U.S. release), John Cougar included the aforementioned track for U.S. audiences, as well as a re-working of A Biography’s “Taxi Dancer”.

“I Need a Lover”, upon the release of this album, became a Top 40 hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 28 in December 1979, after having been a No. 5 hit in Australia in 1978 when it was released as a single from A Biography. “Miami” was also a hit single in Australia, his second Top 40 hit in that country. “I Need a Lover” was subsequently covered by Pat Benatar on her album In the Heat of the Night. In the U.S., however, “Small Paradise” was released as a single in place of “Miami”, but it was not very successful, peaking at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1980. During concerts in 1979 and 1980, guitarist Mike Wanchic would trade lead vocals with Mellencamp on “Miami”.

Mellencamp recorded a solo acoustic rendition of “Sugar Marie” for his 2010 box set On the Rural Route 7609, stating in the set’s liner notes: “‘Sugar Marie’ suffered from young musicians not knowing how to present the music. I’ve always had an affection for the song, and I’ve always known it had something I didn’t get at on the album.”

On his inspiration for writing “I Need A Lover”, his first Top 40 hit, Mellencamp said: “The song’s about a friend of mine who goes to Concordia College. When that song was written, he was pretty sad. He was . . . livin’ in his bedroom. I told him, ‘You got to get the hell out of the house!’ He’d say, ‘Man, if I only had a girl, she’d make me forget my problems.’ I just said, ‘Well . . . ’”

“A Little Night Dancin'” – 3:43
“Small Paradise” – 3:40
“Miami” – 3:53
“The Great Midwest” – 4:29
“Do You Think That’s Fair” – 4:48
“I Need a Lover” – 5:35
“Welcome to Chinatown” – 3:59
“Sugar Marie” – 4:16
“Pray for Me” – 3:30
“Taxi Dancer” – 5:02
“I Need A Lover” (Single Edit) – 3:39

John Mellencamp – vocal, guitar
Brian Bec Var – piano, keyboards
Larry Crane – guitars, backing vocals
Mike “Chief” Wanchic – guitars, backing vocals
Robert “Ferd” Frank – bass
Tom Knowles – drums

Wednesday 6pm ET: Sounds of The 70s

This week on the Sounds of The 70s we feature music from:  Pablo Cruise, Bob Dylan, Cheap Trick, John Mellencamp, Elton John, Doobie Brothers, Village People, America, Hillside Singers and more . . . 

Tuesday 4pm: Sounds of The 80s

This week on The Sounds of The 80s we feature tunes from:  Leslie Pearl, Whitesnake, Chicago, Pretenders, David Bowie, Pebbles, Wham!, Erasure, Billy Idol, Alabama, John Mellencamp and more . . . 

Wednesday 4pm: Sounds of The 70’s

This week on the Sounds of The 70s:  Yes, Wet Willie, Tony Orlando & Dawn, John Mellencamp, Elton John, Rattles, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Abba, Queen, Chicago, Billy Joel, Helen Reddy, Jackson Browne and more . .  

Tuesday 2pm: Sounds of The 80’s

This week on Sounds of The 80s we feature your requests and music from:  Boz Scaggs, John Mellencamp, Reba McEntire, Peter Gabriel, Julian Lennon, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Ramones, Steve Carlisle, Journey and more . . . 

Wednesday 10pm: In Concert – John Mellencamp 2019

John J Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, painter, and actor. He is known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. Mellencamp rose to fame in the 1980s while “honing an almost startlingly plainspoken writing style” that, starting in 1982, yielded a string of Top 10 singles, including “Hurts So Good,” “Jack & Diane,” “Crumblin’ Down,” “Pink Houses,” “Lonely Ol’ Night,” “Small Town,” “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” “Paper in Fire,” and “Cherry Bomb.” He has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven. Mellencamp has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His latest album of original songs, Sad Clowns & Hillbillies, was released on April 28, 2017 to widespread critical acclaim.

Mellencamp is also one of the founding members of Farm Aid, an organization that began in 1985 with a concert in Champaign, Illinois, to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land. Farm Aid concerts have remained an annual event over the past 34 years, and as of 2019 the organization has raised over $53 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.

Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008. On June 14, 2018, Mellencamp was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, James Brown and the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone contributor Anthony DeCurtis said: “Mellencamp has created an important body of work that has earned him both critical regard and an enormous audience. His songs document the joys and struggles of ordinary people seeking to make their way, and he has consistently brought the fresh air of common experience to the typically glamour-addled world of popular music.”

1. Love And Happiness
2. Paper In Fire
3. Jack And Diane
4. Lonely Ol’ Night
6. Rain On The Scarecrow
5. Check It Out
7. Martha Say
8. The Real Life
9. Rumble Seat
10. Get A Leg Up
11. Jackie Brown
12. Small Town
13. Minutes To Memories
14. Now More Than Ever
15. Pop Singer
16. Crumblin’ Down
17. R.O.C.K. In The USA
19. Hurts So Good
18. Play Guitar
20. Authority Song
21. Pink Houses
22. Cherry Bomb

Tuesday 1pm: Feature LP: John Mellencamp – Other People’s Stuff (2018)

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
John Mellencamp gives away the intent of Other People’s Stuff with its titles: it’s a collection of covers, ten songs recorded between 1993 and 2018. Some of these songs come from tribute albums or soundtracks — “Gambling Bar Room Blues” is taken from a 1997 tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, “I Don’t Know Why I Love You” was pulled from 2003’s An Interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s Songs — but most come from Mellencamp’s studio albums. The notable exception is “Eyes on the Prize,” a song he originally performed for President Barack Obama at the White House in 2010, here given a robust new version that sits along the rest of the oldies quite easily, playing as a slice of Americana that can also be read as protest song. Not everything on Other People’s Stuff is politically charged — Robert Johnson’s “Stones in My Passway” is merely haunted, for instance — but taken as a whole, the album can be read as a summation of what Mellencamp loves about America, which amounts to a political statement in 2018. – AllMusic

Wednesday 9pm: Feature Artist – Paul Rodgers

Paul RodgersPaul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his success in the 1960s and 1970s as vocalist of Free and Bad Company. He now lives in Canada as a naturalized Canadian citizen. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has more recently toured and recorded with Queen. Rodgers has been dubbed “The Voice” by his fans. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. In 2011 Rodgers received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.

Rodgers has been cited as a significant influence on a number of notable rock singers, including David Coverdale, John Waite, Steve Overland, Lou Gramm, Jimi Jamison, Eric Martin, Steve Walsh, Joe Lynn Turner, Paul Young, Bruce Dickinson, Robin McAuley, Jimmy Barnes, Richie Kotzen. Joe Bonamassa, and the late Ronnie Van Zant. In 1991, John Mellencamp called Rodgers “the best rock singer ever”. Freddie Mercury, the original Queen vocalist, in particular liked Rodgers and his aggressive style. – Wikipedia

Sounds of The 80s with Ron Kovacs 7pm ET

I_Love_80sThis week on the Sounds of The 80s music from John Mellencamp, Power Station, New Kids On The Block, O’Jays, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Martha and The Muffins, and more.  Join Ron Kovacs this Monday evening for the 80s only on RadioMaxMusic.

Feature Year: 1992 (Part 1- 9a / Part 2 – 9p ET) #1992

1992January 11 – Nirvana’s Nevermind album goes to No. 1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s. Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the United Nations cultural boycott.
January 16 – Mick Jagger attends the Hollywood première of his new movie, Freejack, at Mann’s Chinese Theatre.
February 5 – New Kids on the Block interrupt their tour to perform on the The Arsenio Hall Show in response to rumors that the group lip-synchs its concerts.
February 16 – Slavic music is featured at the Oulu Music Festival, with concerts and opera productions in Oulu, Finland, until February 26.
February 18 – Vince Neil leaves Mötley Crüe after 11 years as the band’s lead singer, to spend more time on his career as a racing car driver.
February 24 – Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain marries Hole’s Courtney Love. The U.S. Postal Service unveils two potential designs for its proposed Elvis Presley postage stamp for fans to vote on. One design is of a young, 1950s Elvis, and the other is of a much older, 1970s Elvis. The young Elvis wins the vote, and the stamp is issued the following January.
February 25 – Six major record companies reach an agreement to phase out the longbox form of compact disc packaging by April 1993, due to complaints that the packaging is environmentally wasteful.
March 10 – At the 1992 Soul Train Music Awards, Prince wins the “Heritage” award for lifetime achievement.
March 14 – Farm Aid Five takes place in Irving, Texas, USA, hosted by Willie Nelson. Artists performing at the event include John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Paul Simon. Approximately 40,000 people attend the event.
March 24 – A judge in Chicago, Illinois, USA, approves cash rebates of up to US$3 to anyone proving they bought Milli-Vanilli recordings prior to the beginning of the lip synching scandal on November 27, 1990.
April 1 – Billy Idol, on trial for punching a woman in the face, pleads no contest. Idol is fined and ordered to make public service announcements against alcohol and drug abuse.
April 20 – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert takes place at Wembley Stadium in London, England. All proceeds go to AIDS research.
April 24 – David Bowie marries fashion model Iman.
April 30 – In Los Angeles, California, USA, Madonna’s bustier is stolen from a display in Frederick’s of Hollywood. A US $1,000 reward is offered for its return.
May – The first Europäisches Jugendchorfestival,(EJCF) (European Festival of Youth Choirs) is held in Basel, Switzerland. It is decided to make it a triennial event. Rob Halford announces he is leaving Judas Priest.
May 6 – Selena releases her album Entre A Mi Mundo which contains her first No. 1 hit, “Como La Flor”.
May 7 – John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers leaves the band prior to the publication of a Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring them; he has to be digitally edited out of the photo.] Frusciante returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1998.
May 11 – A. R. Rahman’s debut film Roja is released. The soundtrack is regarded as a milestone that changed the face of Tamil film music and subsequently contemporary Indian music. Time magazine’s film critic, Richard Corliss, stated in 2005 that the “astonishing debut work parades Rahman’s gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman,” naming it one of the magazine’s “10 Best Soundtracks” of all time.
June 5 – The Sata Häme Accordion Festival takes place until June 14 in Ikaalinen, Finland.
June 27 – Michael Jackson starts the Dangerous World tour, supporting his Dangerous album in Munich, Germany. Guitarist Stefanie Sargent of up-and-coming punk rock band 7 Year Bitch dies of asphyxiation after returning home from a party in which she had drunk alcohol and taken a small amount of heroin. She was 24.
June 29 – The Northern Accordion Festival takes place in Tornio-Haaparanta, Finland, until July 5.
July – The BudaFest Summer Opera and Ballet Festival is launched in Budapest, Hungary.
July 4 – Mark Heard suffers a heart attack while performing at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois, USA. Heard goes to hospital immediately after finishing his set, but dies two weeks after being discharged in August.
July 10 – Seinäjoki (Finland) Tango Festival (to July 12).
July 11 – “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses enters the world record books when it becomes the longest single, at 8 minutes, 57 seconds, to reach the US Top 20. The single’s video has a budget of over US $1.5 million, becoming the most expensive at the time.
July 12 – Opening of the Chamber-Music Festival of Kuhmo, Finland (until July 26).
July 18 – Whitney Houston marries Bobby Brown.
July 28 – Ice-T announces that the controversial track “Cop Killer” is being pulled from Body Count’s self-titled album.
August – Rozalla becomes the first artist from Zimbabwe to chart on the US Billboard magazine chart. Former Beatle, George Harrison, tells Billboard magazine that he recently discovered that he was born on February 24, and not February 25 as he had thought for most of his life. Haitian military authorities ban the playing of RAM’s single “Fèy”; first performed at the Port-au-Prince Carnival in February, the song was widely interpreted as an anthem of support for exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
August 2 – American pop-punk band Blink-182 form in the suburbs of San Diego but known as Blink until 1995.
August 3 – Lahti Organ Festival (Finland) (until August 9).
August 8 – Metallica frontman James Hetfield is burned by a pyrotechnics blast during a concert at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, forcing the group to cancel the second hour of the show. Co-headliners Guns N’ Roses take the stage, but walk off early with Axl Rose complaining of throat problems. The abbreviated show causes angry fans to riot in the streets of Montreal.
August 14 – Opening of the Sibelius-Festival in Loviisa, Finland.
August 18 – Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love become parents of a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.
August 20 – Opening of the Helsinki Festival, with the theme: Music of the Baltics (orchestral and chamber-music concerts, opera productions, song recitals, ballet, theater, jazz, pop, and rock concerts) until September 6.
September 17 – Frank Zappa, in his final professional public appearance, conducts the Ensemble Modern at the Frankfurt Festival in Germany. Zappa, who is seriously ill with prostate cancer, receives a 20-minute ovation.
October 3 – Sinéad O’Connor stirs up controversy when she rips up a picture of the Pope on the US television show, Saturday Night Live.
October 16 – A massive Bob Dylan tribute concert is held at Madison Square Garden in New York. John Cougar Mellencamp, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, June Carter Cash, Johnny Cash and Tracy Chapman are among the many performers, but much attention becomes focused on Sinéad O’Connor, who is loudly booed by much of the audience in response to the Saturday Night Live incident two weeks earlier.
October 20 – Singer-songwriter Madonna releases her fifth studio album, Erotica which became one of her most controversial album to date due to overtly sexual contents.
October 31 – “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men posts a 12th consecutive week at No. 1 in the US charts, ending a 36-year record previously held by Elvis Presley. Boyz II Men’s record was broken on March 6, 1993, by Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”. McTeague, an opera based on the Progressive Era-novel by Frank Norris, premieres at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
November 9 – Australian-born singer Kylie Minogue ends her working relationship with UK songwriters and record producers Stock Aitken Waterman and the record label PWL.
November 15 – Megan Jasper of Sub Pop creates the grunge speak hoax, tricking The New York Times into printing an article on supposed slang used in the grunge scene in Seattle, USA. Ozzy Osbourne plays the final concert of his “retirement” tour at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California. He is joined on stage by his three former Black Sabbath bandmates for a reunion performance. Black Sabbath opened the show with Rob Halford as lead vocalist, filling in for Ronnie James Dio who had left the band days earlier.
The Jacksons: An American Dream, a two-part miniseries based on the Jackson family, premieres on ABC.
December 3 – Bill Wyman announces he is quitting The Rolling Stones.
December 17 – The soundtrack to Whitney Houston’s debut film, The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is released. The album went on to be certified 17x platinum by the RIAA and sell 45 million copies worldwide. To date the album is still the best selling soundtrack of all time and also one of the best selling albums of all time.
December 31 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau announces his retirement from the stage to an audience at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The twenty-first annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by TLC, Bell Biv DeVoe, Slaughter, Jon Secada, The Village People and Barry Manilow.

Also in 1992
David Isberg quits Opeth from his vocalist position. Current gutiarist Mikael Åkerfeldt fills his position. Vibe, a new magazine focusing on R&B and hip-hop music, launches with a special Fall preview issue.  Source: Wikipedia